Students in the Shakti tribal dance class perform outside Withey Hall last week as part of GMC's annual Feminist Fair.

Student Contingent Makes Splash at Power Shift 2009
College students from all over the country congregated in Washington, D.C. February 27-March 2 for Power Shift ‘09, a national student conference organized by the Energy Action Coalition. The conference is committed to rebuilding the U.S. economy and reclaiming its future through climate and clean energy policy.

Power Shift ’09 estimates the event attracted over 12,000 students, and no school was better represented than Green Mountain College. Over 70 GMC’ers braved a late winter snowstorm to participate in the event, which featured guest speakers including House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and workshops designed develop the key skills for grassroots organizing.

Several GMC students participated in a March 2 protest that led to an announcement by Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid that the coal-fired Capitol power plant would be replaced by with 100 percent natural gas for its operations.

Internationally Renowned 'Yes Men' Come to GMC
Who are the “Yes Men?” The argument could be made that they are entertainers, con-men, and social activists—or all three rolled together. They certainly aren’t corporate shills. They describe themselves as “a pair of notorious troublemakers” and they are bringing their internationally acclaimed act to Green Mountain College on Wednesday, March 25, from 7-9 p.m. at Ackley Auditorium. The program is free and open to the public. More…

Law School Prof. Hosts Talk on National Security & Environment
A talk from a Vermont Law School professor who wrote the first book on national security and the environment kicks off GMC’s spring “Law, Science and the Sea Speaker Series.”

Prof. Stephen Dycus from Vermont Law School hosts the talk, titled "Whales' Tales: Reconciling National Security and Environmental
Protection,” on March 26 at 6:30 p.m. in the Feick Fine Arts Center.

The Supreme Court recently ruled that the Navy does not have to consider the impact of sonar on Right Whales - despite the fact that sonar scrambles the brains of whales, and may cause the extinction of this protected species. Prof. Dycus petitioned the Court on behalf of the whales. His talk will address what the Court decided and what it implies for future conflicts between the environment and national security in an age of terrorism.

Prof. Dycus is a Vermont Law School professor who wrote the first book on national security and the environment, and is the lead author in one of the country's prominent textbooks in national security law. He is a graduate of Southern Methodist University and Harvard Law School.

The series continues with two additional talks:Visiting Author: Riki Ott, Chelsea Green Speaker Series
"The Democracy Crisis: Lessons from the Exxon Valdez Disaster"
April 1
The Gorge, 7 p.m.

Visiting Scholar: Prof. Betsy Baker
"The Speed of Sound in the Realm of Light: Mapping the Arctic Continental Shelf"
April 7
The Gorge, 7 p.m.

Gorge to Host GMC Community Conversation
Please join us for the spring GMC community conversation on Wednesday, March 25 at 11 a.m. in the Gorge.

The goal for this conversation will be to acquire a shared understanding of the current financial context and its impact on the College and higher education in general. We will formulate our response as a College as we make progress toward achieving our 5-year strategic plan goals.

Among the questions to be explored: What does the shifting economic context mean for Green Mountain College? What should we be doing in the next year to address the challenges inherent in these new conditions?

Don't miss this opportunity to have your voice heard and to share ideas about how we can continue to improve Green Mountain College.

Intercultural Center Sponsors Talk: "Thinking About Racism & Gender"
One of the greatest barriers to ending racism and other forms of privilege is that we are trapped in cultural ways of thinking that turn conversations about privilege and oppression into occasions for dominant groups to feel guilty and defensive. As a result, the conversations we need to have either happen badly or, more often, don't happen at all. On Monday, March 23, Prof. Allan Johnson hosts a presentation that will provide an alternative way of thinking about the issue of privilege. His talk, sponsored by the GMC Intercultural Center, begins at 7 p.m. in the East Room.

The presentation, titled "Thinking About Race and Gender," is based on the author's books, The Gender Knot and Privilege, Power and Difference. Johnson is a writer, teacher, and public speaker who has worked on issues of privilege, oppression, and social inequality since receiving his Ph.D. in sociology from the University of Michigan in 1972. After almost 30 years of college teaching, Johnson now devotes himself entirely to writing and public speaking. He has worked with more than 180 schools and organizations in 36 states.

Flow Screening to Mark
World Water Week
In celebration of the beginning of the UNICEF Tap Project’s World Water Week, Green Mountain College students will be hosting a film night featuring Flow, an award- winning documentary by director Irena Salina. The movie will be shown tonight in The Gorge at 7 p.m. The film night, hosted by students in Prof. Paul Falzone's environmental documentary class, has been organized to raise awareness regarding the commercial monopolizing of the world water supply. It also highlights UNICEF's Tap Project, an initiative to help provide millions of children around the globe with clean, safe water.

EcoDesign & Renewable Energy Focus for New Program
Living walls, roof-top gardens, solar-powered hot water heaters: It’s all happening thanks to a new generation of architects and engineers who are re-creating the built environment with sustainability in mind. GMC students will be able to gain real world skills in this growing field when the College launches the Renewable Energy and EcoDesign (REED) certificate in the fall of 2009.

Designed to combine the ELA curriculum with hands-on experience in energy and design, the 22 credit program may be completed while still fulfilling all major and minor program requirements. The certificate program also features an external three-credit practicum where students get real-world technical training in building and alternative energy systems. Partners include Yestermorrow Design/Build School in Warren and Solar Energy International.

Students Meet Field Requirements for Mountain Rescue
They trekked through the backcountry of the Green Mountain Range by snowshoe and ski, conducted a mock rescue off a 30 degree pitch slope, built emergency evacuation sleds from skis and poles, slept in quinchee snow shelters, and in the end, left confident in their mountain rescue skills. Twelve GMC students in the REC3007 Winter Mountain Travel class recently completed the field requirements for the National Ski Patrol’s Mountain Travel and Rescue Level II certification.

From February 27 – March 1, the certification trip took place in the backcountry near the Sucker Brook Trail between Middlebury Gap and Brandon Gap. GMC students who received certification include Brian Bevacqua, Dillon Bosma, Matt Cavarnos, Jon DeBay, Derek Gavelis, Wyatt Goodrich, Francis McGuire, Ian Newton, Adi Partojoyo, Chris Ricker, Lee Robinson, and Mariano Sastre.

Farm CSA Program Now Recruiting Members
Sign up for a steady supply of fresh vegetables, herbs, flowers, eggs and more through the campus farm’s community supported agriculture program (CSA).

Green Mountain's CSA program links customers directly with the farm - CSA shareholders receive a weekly supply of produce from the spring through early fall, all grown by the student crew. The varies changes throughout the growing season, but some possibilities include broccoli, carrots, tomatoes, kale, spinach, cabbage, squash, onions and more. Shareholders support a local farm and participate in an ecologically thought-out system planned by students studying sustainable agriculture.

A share is typically enough to feed four people. Splitting shares is an option – please specify if you would like to do this and you may be partnered with someone else. The farm is also offering a limited number of working shares to anyone willing to work 40 hours on the farm throughout the growing season.

One full vegetable share: $400
One half vegetable share: $200
Working share: $200

For the installment plan, a deposit of $200 is due by April 15 and another $200 is due by May 1. All payments are due by May 1. For more information, call 287-8277 or email farm@greenmtn.edu

Women's Lacrosse Players Earn Conference Honors
The Green Mountain College women's lacrosse team racked up conference honors to start the season, with first-year student Amanda Posey chosen as the NAC Player of the Week, and Erin Burch, also a freshman, honored as the Rookie of the Week.

Amanda scored eight goals while helping lead GMC to a 1-1 record for the week ending March 20. She netted four goals in GMC's 14-12 loss at Becker College, and tallied four goals in GMC's 15-5 victory over Elms College. Erin scored six goals in two games. She notched three goals against Becker, and three goals in the win over Elms.

GMC Idol Winners Announced
The GMC Intercultural Center (ICC) is proud to have hosted the GMC Idol on February 28. We would like to congratulate the winners, Chad Skile and Jennifer Carson, as well as the runner up Joel Barker. We would also like to thank the rest of the participants: Collin Heaton, David Howell, Crystal Giasson, Liz Richard, Jose Galvez, Ryan Rusch, Celie Dagesse, and Yu- Jung Chae. Special thanks to the judges Shawn Henry and Gary Meitrott, as well as the host Paule Bounsana and Kat Carvajal, who provided technical assistance.

STUDENT NOTES Melissa "Kate" Thomas ('10) has received a scholarship to cover her living expenses during her participation in GMC's exchange with Nagoya University in Nagoya, Japan. Kate is the first GMC student to study at Nagoya under the new GMC/Nagoya exchange agreement. The scholarship comes from JASSO (Japan Student Services Organization) and includes a travel allowance and monthly stipend. Kate was one of eight international students from a pool of over 60 to receive this honor. She will depart for Japan early this April, and return in time for classes in the fall.

FACULTY NOTES
Prof. Mike Blust (biology) was featured in the winter issue (page 3) of the Vermont Entomological Society newsletter. He was also a guest on WVNR (Lakes Region Radio) Feb. 6 to talk about the "Great Backyard Bird Count" and to answer callers' questions about birds.

Prof. Mark Dailey (anthropology) presented a paper, titled "Rural China: Imagining the Future at the 'Headwaters of Globalization'," on March 14 at the 17th Annual ASIANetwork Conference in Lisle, Illinois.

Student Samantha Boutin collects maple sap from a tree on campus as part of a research project for a class with Prof. Jim Graves (botany & environmental studies).

If you have news, announcements, or events to publicize in the GMC Journal, please e-mail materials to gmcjournal@greenmtn.edu or send through campus mail to the Communications Office, Richardson House. All materials subject to editorial approval by the College Communications Office.